船到江心,補漏遲 chuán dào jiāng xīn , bǔ lòu chí

DEFINITIONS

  1. It's too late to plug the leak once ship is in the middle of the river. (idiom)

CHARACTERS

船 chuán ship, boat, vessel
到 dào go to, arrive, been to
江 jiāng large river; yangzi; surname
心 xīn heart; mind, intelligence; soul
補 bǔ mend, patch, fix, repair, restore
漏 lòu leak, drip; funnel; hour glass
遲 chí late, tardy; slow; delay